


Yes, Boss

by XtaticPearl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Kidnapping, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 15:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: When Antonia (Tony) Stark is set to go back to MIT, her mother has only one condition - she needs a bodyguard. Tony hates it and tries to skip out from it using every excuse possible but Maria is firm and Tony is stuck with a bodyguard who is bound to cramp her style. It just gets even worse when the bodyguard is Captain Stephanie Rogers and Tony doesn’t know if her destiny hates her or wants her to just give in to the weird feeling that kinda sounds like love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tonystarkssnipples](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonystarkssnipples/gifts).



> This is a Secret Santa gift for @tonystarkssnipples. I hope you like it :D

“Mom”

Maria Carbonell (ex Stark) hummed in acknowledged but kept her head down and eyes focused on the file she was reading.

“Mother,” Tony stressed and leaned against the mahogany table, eyeing the miniature  _ Le Portatrici  _ doll near her hand before looking at her mom who was now mildly distracted from work, “I’m thinking of running away tonight.”

“Good luck, darling,” Maria commented, signing on a client’s file, “Do remember to grab a fake ID.”

“I can  _ make _ one,” Tony shrugged and Maria grinned, Tony could see it even if she didn’t look up, “But the point is that I’m running. Really.”

“I understand,  _ cara _ ,” Maria said, finally looking up, a dark eyebrow raised, “I do appreciate a good exercise now and then. A run in the moonlight is even better.”

Tony rolled her eyes and leaned forward, palms pressed against the table.

“Mom, I  **cannot** have a bodyguard,” Tony declared, her wire bracelet pressing into her wrist when she stretched her hand down, “You told me to meet Howard twice a year, for whatever bullshit reason you think is necessary.”

“It was a compromise,” Maria commented but Tony could see the painful tightening of her jaw. The divorce had been messy and Obie had fought as dirty as possible to make Howard’s case strong. The press had slashed through all pretenses of dignified reporting and paparazzi was a nightmare every day. Tony being the sole heir had made matters worse, even if Maria and Aunt Peggy had not said a word about it to her directly. Tony knew - the genius tag wasn’t just for her tech skills. 

“It’s MIT, mom,” she shifted tracks, ignoring the awkward moment, “You know how weird it’ll be to have a bodyguard at college. I know the place, I’ve spent two years there. You know that, right? I can’t even imagine the amount of hovering and gossip. And Tesla knows what he will be with my -”

“She,” Maria corrected and Tony frowned a bit, “It’s a ‘she’. Captain Rogers is Peggy’s recommendation and she is really good at what she does.”

“Okay, broken gender stereotypes FTW aside,” Tony pointed at her mom, “it is still not happening. The Pyms have their own scandals but they’ve never had a bodyguard for Hope!”

“Hope has never had death threats,” Maria countered, a fire burning in her eyes at the fresh memory of the last threat, “Tony, you  _ know _ why I’m doing this. Please.”

The death threats had begun a week after the divorce had come through, and at first everybody was sure that it was Howard. But there was no proof and her father had been too drunk to be coherent enough. Things had gotten serious after the accident that Tony had escaped barely, thanks to Rhodey, and nobody had caught the biker but the message had been clear. If she thought about it better, Tony could understand why her mom had panicked.

But it was still frustrating to agree with it.

“I keep erratic schedules,” she argued, gesturing wildly with her hands, “Even Rhodey gets kinda annoyed by it and he doesn’t get annoyed by most things I do. I have projects and research and my own personal projects. It will be pure hell to follow a rigid system. I’ll die of suffocation, mom.”

Maria put her pen down and reached across to put a hand over Tony’s.

“I know,” she smiled slightly, pride clear in her eyes over what Tony was capable of achieving and what she  _ was _ achieving, “And so does Rogers. We’ve made that absolutely clear to her. She knows to work around it and you’ll have as less problems as possible.”

“Mom…”

“Antonia,” Maria said quietly and Tony fell silent the way she always did when her full name was used in that voice, “please. Try. For my peace of mind, if nothing else?”

Tony shook her head but then sighed and straightened up with a rueful look.

“I better get a big coffee package this time,” she informed and narrowed her eyes at her mom, “and you better attend all your AA meetings.”

“Deal,” Maria grinned, smug with her victory, and Tony threw her hands in the air before walking away with a snort.

Christmas was always a strange affair at the Stark household, with acquaintances playing family and family playing recluse. Tony had never been a fan of it after her 7th birthday, when  _ Uncle Obadiah _ had given her mom the largest wine set and Maria had drunk it all. Howard was never a note to be heard in her mom’s reprise of depression and alcoholism, especially not when he was more of a catalyst than anything else. Tony had never known to hate people but it was difficult to not feel that for her father and his friends since then. 

If she paused to hear, she could still hear Howard’s miserable drunk taunt of her being just like her mama when she cried silently on the day she was shipped off to boarding school. Maybe that was why she didn’t pause much in life. The silences were always filled with loud memories.

Christmas at their new home was a little quieter but it felt more real. Tony was scheduled to leave back for MIT a couple of days later, for her special research deadlines, and everybody they cared about had come down to see them. Maria didn’t dress in champagne gowns and pearl sets but her softer sweater and elegantly casual appearance was more at ease when Tony stole glances of her. 

“You knock some asses and blaze your trail, you hear?” Peggy said as she hugged Tony after getting her customized taser as a gift, “I want to see Dum-E have a legacy of better AIs now.”

“You love that heap of bolts,” Tony teased and Peggy shrugged, never bothered by the way the world saw her fascinations, “Though really, I should be pissed at you. I still haven’t got any info on your mystery Captain. Paper files, Pegs? Really? Can’t you have digital records like everyone else? They’re so much easier to hack.”

“I’d like to keep you from running her off even before she takes duty, thank you,” Peggy said with a mock warning look, “Besides, I’m allowed to have my fun.”

“I’m going to lock her up in the chemistry lab,” Tony said cheerfully and Peggy smirked.

“She might just surprise you, genius”

Surprise was an understatement to what Tony felt when she finally saw Captain Stephanie Rogers a day before she was set to leave for MIT again.

“Ms. Stark,” Rogers greeted, calm and composed in the blue shirt and black suit she was dressed in. She was 5’5” or lesser, blonde bob-cut hair, sharp clear eyes, one ear pierced with a shield like stud, and simple black shoes that looked like she had shined them with spit. It was her stature that baffled Tony at first, looking 95 lbs at most, more susceptible to star in a medical check-up ad than play a bodyguard. But then her eyes caught Tony’s attention again and the brunette was perplexed by the intensity in them; like a warning of a maelstrom disguised by a calm. She didn’t look like it by appearance but her azure eyes held a streak of danger that Tony felt intrigued by.

“Captain,” she replied when she realized that her pause had reached the awkward mark, and cleared her throat before looking at the bag on the floor beside the woman, “Is Happy bringing in the rest of your luggage?”

“I carry my own baggage, ma’am,” Rogers answered and Tony raised an eyebrow, shooting her mother a glance before looking back at her bodyguard.

“Aren’t you supposed to have some guns or sniper rifles or something?” she asked and the Captain looked surprised for a second before her shoulders untensed a bit.

“I have what I need, Ms. Stark,” she assured Tony and the genius shrugged a bit in answer.

“Alright,” she slapped a hand against her thigh, “let’s get started on some important points of discussion then.”

To be honest, Tony hadn’t expected things to go as south as they did.

“No fucking way”

“Tony..”

“You’re staying in my  _ dorm _ ?” Tony ignored her mother and challenged Rogers, who stared back without flinching, “That’s a complete breach of privacy!”

“You share your room with another person, already,” Rogers pointed out, jaw clenched at the glare she got from Tony, “I’ve seen the photographs and footage. Your last attack was organized with perfect awareness of your schedule, and your room is no exception to where they can attack you.”

“I share my room with another  _ student _ ,” Tony stressed, scoffing at the eyebrow Rogers raised, “You cannot be serious!”

“I’m taking the classes too”

“It’s a Masters degree!” Tony laughed bitterly, “It’s a damn Masters in  _ Science _ !”

“And Business,” Rogers countered without pause, “You’re taking classes for an MBA too, aren’t you?”

“You can’t join this late,” Tony pointed out, “You’ve missed a good portion of syllabus.”

“I’m not taking up an MBA too. I’m doing a HASS Minor,” Rogers said calmly, infuriating in her unruffled demeanour, “I can catch up.” 

“You’ll have to be a goddamn genius to do it all”

“I’ve seen people with far less than that do far more,” Rogers said with a minutely dismissive look in her eyes and Tony felt a strange tension coil in her gut.

“Let me be clear, Captain,” the title was a mockery and Rogers must have caught it because her eyes flashed in warning, but Tony felt the frustration of everything come to the peak, “you can pretend to be a genius, but you cannot pretend to handle the work of one.”

“And you may not think you have a threat,” Rogers replied, voice low and steel strong, “but you better stop pretending to play a hero, Ms. Stark. I have a job and I’m doing it. You can agree with it or fight me through the way.”

“Agreeing is out of the equation,” Tony declared as she stepped up, right in Rogers’ face.

“You better have an armour to fight then,” Rogers said simply and Tony held her gaze for a minute before Maria cleared her throat. 

Tony knew that she was doomed even as she caught sight of her mother’s amused but firm look. 

The flight back to Boston was conflicted and Tony avoided talking with her companion as much as she could. To her credit, Rogers wasn’t hugely interested in speaking with Tony either and kept busy reading something on a tablet. The drive from Logan Airport to campus was relatively less tense, possibly because Tony was engrossed in working out her theories on her notebook and Rogers kept the chatting with the driver to the minimum. 

When they reached campus, Tony surreptitiously eyed Rogers to see if she would pick up Tony’s luggage too but the blonde simply picked up her own bag. 

“Lead the way,” Rogers said and Tony was unsure if she was mollified by it or strangely put-off.

There was one person who was very clear about how they felt.

“It's the best thing since Hubble,” Rhodey said and ducked as Tony threw his jacket at his face, “No, listen, I know it's hilarious and weird but Ma was worried. I was worried. You're not a superhero, Tones, no matter how much of a genius you are. If somebody tries to hurt you and you  _ do _ get hurt -"

“She cannot understand, Rhodey!” Tony cut him off, pushing back her layered bangs off her forehead with one hand, “I can  _ feel _ the disapproval radiate off her every time I don't act like a military person or shit. It's like waiting for your disapproving grandmother to make some comment at dinner but not knowing when dinner is. I swear, I almost thought she'd take my tool kit away last night.”

“Is that why you're hiding in my room like a raccoon of grease?” Rhodey grinned and raised his hands in surrender when Tony glared at him, “Alright, look, I'm not her biggest fan or anything, I don't even know her that well, but she clearly knows her job. Were you not there when she took Hammer down yesterday?”

Tony was there and she did remember that with some fondness. It wasn't everyday that Justin cried and blubbered messily, so it was a visual for her Hall of Fame. The jerk was always handsy and usually Tony shot him down well enough but Stephanie had clearly found him a threat when he had attempted to catch Tony's hand and he had found himself on the floor in minutes, hand twisted behind his back. 

It had been, admittedly, a satisfying sight. 

Tony slumped back against the Star Wars pillow and rolled the purple fidget spinner in her hand.

“It's not that,” she said, words being dragged out of her in inches, “it's everything together. Her - she's too much.”

It was probably easier to clam up than tell Rhodey that in the past two weeks that they’d been back, it was ridiculously easy to see why Peggy had chosen Stephanie. It was definitely easier to deflect than admit to Rhodey that Tony felt unsettled by Stephanie Rogers. 

“Listen, if you’re -”

Rhodey was cut off when his pager beeped and Tony made a face at him even as he winced at the time.

“Sorry, but if I miss this, Carol might actually kill me,” he said and Tony ducked as he scrambled to get his stuff, “Look, just, focus on your work and let her do hers too. I’m sure we’ll figure it out later, okay?”

Tony didn’t have her best friend’s faith but she made minimum protest when he bundled her out of his room. She tugged on her hoodie and began walking back towards her room when she saw Stephanie standing at the end of the corridor, patiently waiting in her shorts and T-shirt. Tony eyed her for a minute, speculating if running the other way with her arms flailing would be an acceptable reaction. Maybe if she made herself a flying suit, she could just fly away from awkward situations. 

“So when I said I’ll be back in 5 minutes,” Tony commented as she walked towards Stephanie, shoving her hands in her pockets, “did you take that literally or do you have someone special you’re waiting for out here?”

“Maybe I just take my job seriously,” Stephanie shrugged, looking casual but Tony knew that she was lethal at all times, “Which would be a good thing if you took the threats seriously too.”

“Hey, look we’ve found the missing ‘impossible’ of the dictionary,” Tony said faux cheerfully as they fell into step with each other.

“Impossible seems right,” Stephanie muttered and Tony quirked a grin for a second before pulling on her poker face again. 

Classes were a mad rush but Tony was more bothered by her research and the lab was always her place of solace in majority. It took almost four weeks for Stephanie to find a pattern of it and a way to build her routines around it. Tony never gave her bodyguard much thought when work took over but the impasse eased slowly, between unasked coffees and quietly available band-aids lingering in her space over time. She found herself watching Stephanie when the blonde believed she didn’t have Tony’s attention and it was amusing to the genius how everything fascinated her. Dum-E had held much attention of the media when first revealed but not many people noticed him much now, so it was baffling to see Stephanie always pat his metal claw in greeting or how there was a rubber ball he now had to play with. Rhodey said that she looked gobsmacked whenever Stephanie did something like that and it wasn’t too far-fetched a thought.

Maybe it was a chain of thawing ice or just time, but Stephanie went from Rogers to Stephanie to Cap and then Steph. Somehow, Tony remained Tony but it felt fonder over time. Like Steph meant it as a friend. 

“Why’d you join the Army?” Tony asked one night, staring up at Steph, lying on her cot with her head resting on her hand, elbow pressing against the pillow. It was almost 3 am so technically it was near morning but Steph had finally managed to tempt Tony to try taking a nap after she had clocked more hours than she could stand without a break. Steph herself was curled up in her own cot, a couple of feet away from Tony’s, and had her eyes closed but Tony knew her by now. Steph wasn’t really asleep unless she had a tiny furrow between her brows. Tony didn’t know if they were nightmares or just the stress living in Steph’s bones but it was both strangely cute and sad. 

“Steph”

“Hmm”

“Cap”

“What, Tony?” Steph mumbled and Tony grinned when blue eyes opened to mock glare at her before the blonde huffed a sigh, “When I said  _ nap _ , this is really not what I meant.”

“You said ‘lie down’. I’m lying down,” Tony pointed out and suppressed  a yawn, “C’mon, tell me.”

“Go to sleep,” Steph said but her words were plaintive instead of commanding now, “You’ll be up in an hour anyway.”

Tony stayed silent and eyed the bookshelf beyond Steph’s bed, a makeshift thing the blonde had put up to keep her books even as Tony had space to accommodate. There was a good bunch of science fiction in there, shelved in between art books much to Tony’s organization seeking brain’s horror, but it was all Steph - filled with hope and humaneness and hopeless idealism even as she took reality on the chin everytime. 

“Was it because somebody said you couldn’t do it?” she asked and heard Steph sigh lightly. 

“Your stereotyping of me is not appreciated,” she replied, muffled by her arm but Tony side-eyed her. 

“Is it false?”

Steph moved her arm and Tony met her gaze head-on, watching as the pursed lips quirked into an exasperated small smile.

“Maybe,” she said and shifted to fully face Tony, “My dad was in the Army. He was -”

Tony stayed quiet, letting her thoughts fill up the blanks in options but biting them back because Steph was figuring out her words. 

“He was a soldier,” Steph said finally, thoughtful and blank, a faded memory, “A good soldier. He followed the rules, respected the code, did what had to be done.”

There was a skip of pause before her voice shifted to something softer.

“My mom, though, was an Army nurse,” she said, the imagery lingering in her eyes and voice, “She was stubborn, kind, headstrong, loyal, not much for the rules, always a neck out for those who needed to be looked out for. She was - she was a good person. And she was a fighter.”

“Sounds familiar,” Tony said and Steph huffed out a small chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess,” she exhaled on a pause before Tony saw a shoulder shrug, “Dad was always of the opinion that the son of the family needs to follow the legacy and serve the country.”

Tony didn’t make a face at that but Steph shot her a look that spoke about how she got it. Of course, she did. She had  _ lived _ with it. Tony had just learnt from watching and meeting people and generally trying to be a decent person as much as she could. The first time she had found out about the hormone prescription Steph took, she had tried to act cool but had probably overshot it. It had taken a couple of days for Steph to tell her that she was being weird. Sometimes Tony was grateful for Stephanie Rogers’ ability to call out bluffs. 

The situation had defused and Tony had learnt to just trust Steph to call her out if she ever acted weird again. 

“One part of the statement was false but still, I was okay with the rest,” Steph said, bringing Tony out of her thoughts, “It gave me a purpose. It felt right.”

Somehow Tony felt a missing part of the explanation but it was what she got and she went with it. There would be more time to know about Stephanie Rogers later.

She breathed out and tried to sleep, knowing that dawn would be there soon.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Stephanie had a rush of apprehension the minute she met Obadiah Stane, followed by a sharp surge of alertness, a raw knowledge that danger was nearby. He was a nondescript man; bald, laugh lines mingling with crow’s feet, a smarmy smile that borderlines on charming to some, and a wardrobe that spoke of affluence. The cigar between his teeth was not the only thing smoking, when she noticed Rhodey’s gaze land on him from across the room, but Stane looked well-versed in bearing hostility, in manipulating it. 

Stephanie had to fight hard to not form fists at her sides and stay at an acceptable distance from Tony. Tony, who had just watched her father deliver a presentation at the conference. 

“Antonia!” Stane removed the cigar from between his lips and smiled at them as he walked towards them, a lazy gait belying the keen cunning of his eyes, “My girl, how are you? It’s been so long,  _ so  _ long! Look at you, you’ve only grown more stunning.”

Tony wore her mask well, and Stephanie  _ hated _ it, but it was helping her when she smirked at the man. 

“Hey, Obie, what, nothing about the last patent?” she waved a hand at the stage which Howard had exited a while back, “I saw the SI adaptation of the model. Was it Howard’s handiwork or one of the staff finally caught on?”

Stane didn’t falter a bit and Steph made note of how smooth he was as he finally stood strategically close to Tony, not too close but yet not far enough for a mere acquaintance - which was what he was projecting, clearly.

“Now, Tony, you know that your dad’s genius is still going strong,” he chided with a fake laugh, “Though we were all extremely proud to see your patent. I sent you a congratulatory gift but I think it must have missed you.”

Tony took a sip of her soda, thankfully a soda because Steph was sure that she wouldn’t stop drinking it she had picked up alcohol today, and shrugged.

“Ah, this must be Captain Rogers,” Stane acknowledged Steph, an open expression on his face that was just enough fake to be calculated, “It’s good to finally meet you. Howard made some verifications and we’ve heard all praises about you. Glad to know we’ve got the best to protect our girl here.”

The emphasis on the last sentence was shot to hell and Steph could recognize the patronizing condescension in it veiled by warmth. It was a diversionary tactic, a claim on Tony in front of her, to make her feel outside the circle. 

She didn’t smile back and simply moved closer to Tony, touching her shoulder lightly.

“Are we getting late for Rhodey’s thing?” she asked, giving Tony the choice, the power to decide if they needed to step away. Tony grabbed at it with a moment’s awareness, angling herself away from Stane and grinning at Steph.

“Yeah, absolutely,” she turned back to Stane and nodded at him, “Sorry, Obie, gotta go. Tell Howard - well, whatever you think I should tell him. Bye!”

Steph nodded at Stane once before leaving with Tony, resisting the urge to put an arm around her. They walked through the hall, barely brushing shoulders, and Steph turned to look at Tony only when they reached the stairs.

“Uh,” she cleared her throat and eyed Tony, “We don’t have a Rhodey’s - thing. Right?”

“You tell me, boss,” Tony said, staring back at her for a moment before both of them began laughing, the sheer ridiculousness of the escape striking them.

“I should have at least tried someone else’s thing,” Steph shook her head, “Rhodey’s still  _ there _ . Stane is going to take one look at him and know.”

“Yeah, well, who cares,” Tony snorted, grinning at Steph as she linked her arm with hers, “C’mon, I just met my creepy godfather and I have the need to scrub my brain clean with ice cream.”

“Ice cream cleans your brain?” Steph asked with a raised brow, trying not to stiffen at the linked arms.

“Brain freeze cures everything, Rogers,” Tony nudged her in the stomach and dragged her down the stairs, “C’mon! I’ll even buy you two cones.”

Steph complied, the way she thought she did a lot for a while, and wondered what she was going to do with the realization of  _ why _ she was doing this. 

It had been amusement at first, the way Tony bickered with Dum-E, the wrinkle of her nose when she had a thought she hated, the untamed hair that was tinged red in a single streak. It had been fondness later, for the wicked laugh when Tony proved something to herself, for the way she couldn’t stop muttering even when she was embarrassingly close to sleep, or the wire pieces she twined into random jewellery pieces when bored. It had shifted into protectiveness for the way she held her whiskey glass, the tightness in her eyes when somebody mentioned an ex of earlier years, the way she used sex as a weapon that sometimes hurt herself too. But that wasn’t just it though. That had long surpassed. Now, it was something more, something that made Steph want to card her fingers through Tony’s hair when she was near. Or press a kiss to that scar on her temple when she leaned against Steph. Or let her head rest between Tony’s neck and shoulder, tangling with her for a piece of the warmth she exuded. 

It was maddening and inexplicably worse than feeling merely attracted to someone. It was a home that she wanted to go back to and yet, had never touched. 

Steph wondered how she would survive when it had to end when Tony stole her ice cream and offered her a bite of Tony’s coffee flavoured one, a teasing grin on her face. She took what was offered and held on, hoping she would figure it out before it hit her. 

Classes were busy and Tony got into a project about a failed reactor, something that made her keep late nights for days. Steph had learnt to give space and let the genius work things out when she got into the zone, and spent the time on her own projects. It was quiet for a while, both of them involved in their own work, but still with each other. 

And then the party happened.

Sunset Bain was one of the popular students of the campus and it showed when people always seemed to be enamoured by her when she graced them with her attention. When she began showing interest in Tony, Steph had taken it as curiousity and some sort of competitive friendliness. But things had shifted and Steph had watched Tony eye Sunset with appreciation and then interest. It burned, an urge of wanting to fight the green engulfing her vision whenever she saw them together, and Steph knew that she was acting bitter but it wasn’t easy. 

Tony picked up on the signals and confronted Steph when she invited her to Sunset’s party. 

“No,” she echoed, brown eyes confused as she regarded Steph with a surprised expression, “Really. And why can’t you come to the party?”

“Because I’m,”  _ jealous _ , “busy. Didn’t you say you have your project too?”

“I’m sorry, let me get this straight,” Tony scoffed, “you,  _ you _ are telling me to not take a break from work. You, who has argued with me for almost months now about my ‘unhealthy working times’. Are you kidding me?!”

“I don’t want to go, Tony,” Steph said irritably, looking away to shuffle her books on the shelf, “Aren’t we allowed to say no or is this a compulsory thing?”

“No,” Tony moved to the side to look at Steph clearer, “No, you know what, we’re not doing this thing anymore. I’ve been quiet about you acting weird around Sunset for weeks now but this is it. I need to know what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s going on,” Steph said, side-stepping Tony to move towards her bed, “Can’t you just take a no?”

“Stop,” Tony’s hand closed around Steph’s wrist and Steph shot her a glare but Tony looked hurt rather than angry and that made Steph feel worse than she already did, “Stop running, Cap. We both know you’re not okay,  _ something _ is not okay. And I have a feeling that it’s got something to do with me.”

“Tony…”

“If it’s,” Tony swallowed hard and looked hesitant, “if it’s something I did or - or I said then -”

“No,” Steph shifted the grip on her wrist to hold Tony’s hand, urging her to look at Steph, “no, Tony, you didn’t do anything, okay?”

“Then somebody did,” Tony insisted and she looked urgently miserable, “Steph, I know that you’re hurt, and something is bothering you. And I - I can’t do everything for you but if I don’t know what it is I can’t even try. And I want to try.”

“I can’t,” Steph shook her head, feeling overwhelmed and wanting so much more than she could afford to ask, “I can’t ask you to do anything, Tony.”

“You can. You  _ can _ , Steph,” Tony stressed, stepping closer, fierce and warm and real, “You can ask me anything. Please.”

“Tony..”

“Please, Steph,” Tony whispered and she was close, closer than Steph could bear. Her face was tilted up, dry lips parted slightly and brown eyes full of something that Steph wondered if she was imagining. She looked nothing like the image the world saw and everything Steph was privileged to see in private. She was right there, giving and offering and Steph -

Steph took. She leaned in and kissed Tony, light and soft, trembling in her bones as her lips touched the warmth of Tony’s mouth. For an instant she stayed there, not deepening or pulling away, just touching. Memorizing the feel of it, the shape of her lips. Branding it in her mind for the future when she wouldn’t have Tony anymore, where she wouldn’t get to be here, to touch her and stay.

She leaned back an inch and breathed out.

“That’s why,” she whispered into the space between them and Tony looked shell-shocked, eyes stunned and lips slack.

Steph moved back, hurt and regret and longing churning in her stomach, ready to apologize when Tony surged forward and took her lips firmly. 

Where Steph had been careful and hesitant, Tony was reckless and exploding, arms thrown around Steph’s neck to drag her in and lips moulding against Steph’s. She blazed fire everywhere her skin touched Steph’s and shattered the blonde’s control when her hands clutched at Steph’s hair, desperate and demanding. 

Steph clutched at Tony’s waist and pulled her closer, surrendering to everything she had wanted, letting a breathless laugh escape her when Tony climbed her, swinging her legs around Steph’s hips. For a wonderful couple of moments Steph absorbed life from Tony and basked in it.

And then reality hit her like a supernova exploding. 

“Tony,” she rasped, pulling away from Tony’s lips a little, “Tony, stop, we can’t.”

“No, what, yes, we can,” Tony blinked her eyes rapidly, looking dazed and flushed, “What, no, I turned 19 last month, Steph, I’m not - you’re not in trouble.”

Steph was though, she was in loads of trouble. With every inch of resolve gathered, she let Tony back down on the ground and moved a foot away, feeling her heart shatter with every inch.

“ _ I _ can’t,” she maintained and clenched her hands to resist cupping Tony’s chin, “You’re my client, Tony. This is - this isn’t right.”

“Fuck that,” Tony shook her head and looked desperately at Steph, “Steph, that’s not worth it. That’s not worth losing this.”

“It is. You are,” Steph argued, beseeching and determined in her attempt to make Tony see, “I can’t risk losing control, Tony. If I lose control, if I lose focus, I can’t do my job. And that’s not worth anything.”

“Steph, c’mon …”

“No, Tony, please,” Steph moved, feet backing away, “I need some space. Please. I can’t do this.”

Without waiting for an argument or answer, Steph rushed out of the room, almost stumbling in her attempt to get some air. She didn’t stop till she reached the small gym that was sometimes open during nights. She didn’t stop till she found a bag and poured all her frustration and anger and regret out on it, the phantom touch of Tony lingering strong on her lips. 

By the time she was reasonably exhausted, it had been a while, and Steph let herself stop. She closed her eyes and she could see Tony behind them, vibrant and passionate and willing to take life in hand. Willing to try with Steph. Willing to offer something that Steph couldn’t take. 

And that hurt, the conflict of feeling hesitant to take the offer. She wanted to howl and claw at an invisible injustice, at everything and everyone who had led them to this point. She wanted to go back to the start where she didn’t know Antonia Stark.

She never wanted to not be with Antonia Stark again.

When she went back to the dorm, knowing that she had to apologize, had to face Tony again, Tony was gone and a scribbled paper lay on Steph’s bed.

_ With Sunset. Have your space. _

Steph crumpled the paper in her hand and pushed her face into her hands as she sat heavily on her bed.

The silence did nothing to mask the tears that soiled the note in the lonely room.

Tony didn’t come back the next morning and Steph debated the hurt of seeing her in Sunset’s dorm or waiting to catch her during the day. In the end, it was Rhodey who made the choice for her when he pounded on the dorm door a few minutes before Steph left to try and find Tony.

Steph opened the door and immediately tensed when she caught sight of the thunderous expression on Rhodey’s face.

“Rhodey what -”

“Tony was kidnapped,” he said shortly and the world slipped out from under Steph. She snapped into action and felt her senses shift into alertness.

“When?” she demanded and moved out, locking the door to walk with Rhodey, “Did you check in Sunset’s dorm?”

“Sunset just reported to the campus security,” he said briskly, matching Steph’s pace, “She says that Tony was distraught last night and they both sneaked out for a drive to cheer her up. Apparently their car was attacked and they crashed into a pole. Sunset claims that she lost consciousness and when she woke up in the early hours of morning, she was alone and Tony was gone.”

“Ransom demands?” she asked and Rhodey stayed silent. Steph cut him a stony glare and he breathed out hard. 

“There was a note in the car,” he said in a tone that meant that she wouldn’t like it at all.

It turned out that he was right. Steph sat in the Dean’s office, blood boiling and a cold fury burning in her gut as she stared at the bloodied note an hour later.

_ The Stark legacy has reaped war. Now watch as we pay back in blood. _

“The blood sample seems to match Ms. Stark’s,” Dr. Banner, the forensics expert sent to them explained, eyeing Steph for a minute, “We’re running a scan for any fingerprints but - it seems like a professional job.”

“At least somebody is professional,” Stane snapped, shooting Steph a distasteful glare from where he stood beside the Dean’s table, “This is all your fault, Captain. What were you doing when this happened?! Wasn’t it your job to keep her safe?!”

Steph didn’t say a word to the man who had arrived with a tired but mildly sober looking Howard Stark at the same time that Maria and Peggy had reached. She wanted to punch him, sock him in the gut hard, tear into him for milking this for his own purposes. But she couldn’t. Not when the guilt ate through her viciously.

“Shut up, Stane,” Peggy shot at him and avoided looking at Steph, turning to her niece, Agent Sharon Carter, who had taken charge of the case, “What can you tell us?”

“We haven’t got a contact yet,” Sharon said heavily, looking at both Peggy and Maria, “ There were no tire marks or footprints, except for paw prints nearby.”

“We need to keep looking,” Maria said, voice shaking a little but her eyes as hard as flint, “We need to find -”

“It said we,” Steph said quietly and Maria turned to her sharply. 

“What?”

“The note,” Steph looked up from where she had been staring at her clenched fists, “It says ‘we’. Plural. Not I. Not a single person, but a group.”

“What are you thinking, Stephanie?” Peggy asked and Steph breathed out before answering.

“It talks about the Stark legacy,” she worked through the thoughts out loud, “Anyone who has a personal vendetta against Tony wouldn’t talk about that. A legacy is not about one person. Which means that they are or were linked to a previous Stark too. And they were affected by something created by the brand.”

“A weapon,” Sharon chimed in and Steph nodded.

“Or a lot of weapons,” she agreed, “but it says war and Tony wasn’t working on any weapons. She wasn’t involved in any war.”

“Maybe they just wanted to hurt her father with her,” Maria said and Steph caught Howard flinching but ignored it.

“Possible, but it seems a little weak,” she reasoned, “If they wanted to hurt Howard Stark, hurt his  _ legacy _ , they would have gone for the company. They would have gone for the future of his work. This is -”

“I transferred the company to Tony’s name,” Howard cut in and Steph whipped up her head to stare at him.

“What?” Maria demanded and Howard looked haggard but continued.

“It was still in the works,” he said, swallowing hard, “I had sent in the idea and demand to my lawyers but we hadn’t - we haven’t made it official yet.”

“ _ Howard _ ,” Maria said in a horrified tone but Howard shook his head at her.

“I know, okay Maria? I know that you didn’t want her to be anywhere near the legacy,” he scoffed in the pause, running a hand over his face, “I know you thought that the war and business would just ruin her but - she is my heir, Maria. She is my future. My best creation.”

“Your  _ daughter _ ,” Peggy corrected and Howard nodded.

“I know, and I can’t, I am proud of her,” he said haltingly, “She is a genius and everybody sees that. I just - I wanted her to do everything she could, everything her mind could give the future. People like us, we owe the world a better future. We owe people a better tomorrow.”

“Who knew about this?” Steph asked, bringing attention to herself, “Who knew about the transfer?”

“Nobody other than me and my lawyers,” Howard shook his head and paused, an alert look crossing his face as he turned to stare at Stane, who remained silent, “And you.”

“What?” Stane frowned but Steph could see his body stiffen under Howard’s attention.

“You heard me talking to Thompson when he was leaving my office last week,” Howard said slowly, getting up to move towards Stane.

“That’s absurd, Howard, what are you saying?” Stane scoffed, “I kidnapped Antonia?”

“You stole her patents,” Steph said and Howard shot her a sharp look, “When we last saw you, I heard Tony tell Stane. SI was working on models based after Tony’s ideas. She didn’t tell me more about it but - she knew that you were stealing.”

“That - Howard made those designs,” Stane gestured at Howard but the veteran genius was now frowning.

“Are you talking about the idea for Jericho’s core?” he asked turning to Stane, “Yes, I made it but - you suggested the idea for palladium. I remember you coming to me saying that you’d heard some of the scientists discuss palladium as an energy source.”

“It was your design, Howard!”

“But not his idea,” Maria stressed, now aware of where this was heading, “Was it?”

“You were getting ideas from somewhere, some source but then you hit a snag, didn’t you?” Peggy worked it out, letting her thoughts run, “You hit a snag on something you wanted, something Tony had but wasn’t revealing to whoever your source was before.”

“The reactor,” Steph realized and stared at Stane, a horrifying reality crashing on her, “She did all her work on the miniaturized reactor plans in the dorm and then in the old workshop that is usually abandoned. I stopped her from going to her workshop and she sneaked in her way to another one. One where you couldn’t get access, because - “

“Because you didn’t know about it,” Dean Yinsen concluded, “Because that workspace has been left untouched due to its outdated equipment and is scheduled for a remodelling soon. So it was considered unavailable. Except, Tony knew about the space and used it because she has been here long enough to know every nook and corner of the campus.”

“And only those who weren’t in the science departments before wouldn’t know about it,” Steph continued, getting up from her seat, “People like business majors who had met Tony only through her MBA. People like the daughter of your cousin. People like the sole witness to a kidnapping that has no clues.”

“Sunset Bain,” Howard said and Obadiah opened his mouth but Howard reacted even before he could speak. For the first time since she had known him, Steph felt something remotely good about Howard Stark when she saw him punch his oldest friend in the face.

Questioning Sunset was easy when they informed her of her uncle having found guilty. Steph felt fury rise as she heard her talk about how easy it was to lure Tony away, how desperate Tony was for attention always. 

She almost barged in to punch Sunset when she spoke about Tony being weak and always wanting. 

“And then she stopped,” Sunset said bitterly, “She just stopped because she had her Steph now. It was always them, always together. I tried hard to make Tony notice me but it was as though I was invisible. Till Stephanie didn’t realize that poor Tony had fallen for her. It was so easy when I saw that. Unrequited crushes, you know?”

“Who has Tony now?” Sharon asked and Sunset laughed.

“She was almost dead when they took her,” she sneered, “Drunk and dizzy and bleeding. It was ridiculously easy to take her away and my uncle thought that we’d need professionals to do it.”

“Who, Ms. Bain?” Sharon repeated, cutting and firm.

“The Ten Rings,” Sunset grinned viciously and Steph’s stomach dropped out. The Ten Rings was a vicious group of fanatics who operated as terror-mongering ‘warriors’. They were ruthless and insane, no hint of mercy in their bones.

The moment of terror passed and Steph steeled herself, regretting the lost moment, before she turned to face Maria, who had grown ashen over Sunset’s confession.

“I know I failed you,” Steph said honestly, meeting Maria’s gaze head-on, “I know I’m responsible for this and that you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I am asking you to let me do this. I need to bring her back, Ms. Stark. Not for anything else but because she is my friend and - she trusted me.” It dawned on her as she said it that it was as simple as that. “She trusted me with everything she was and I failed her,” she confessed, “I can’t forgive myself for that but I can’t abandon her again. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want me, if  _ she _ doesn’t want me. She needs me right now, she needs what I can do, what I can give.”

Steph took a breath, letting her words fall out.

“And I need her,” she said, low and quiet and raw. Maria looked alert, sharp and Steph saw understanding dawn on her face. “I need her back and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back safe.”

Maria Stark had her daughter’s courage and Steph felt a pang of familiarity when she nodded.

“Get her back, Captain,” she said and Steph prepared to go to war.

It was pure hell tracking for traces of the gang. Steph used her old contacts, the resources from Sharon and her team, and every bit of tactical intelligence she had herself to find Tony. Stane was no help or use in any more information, his contact falling through like sand. Steph didn’t lose hope and kept at it, scouring through every inch of clues they could find.

On the third week, she found a hit when she was in Tony’s workshop. She had been pouring through her notes when her eyes fell on the coded drives Tony had been working on a few months back. She had shared that they were attempts to create an advanced AI, a dream that kept Tony awake on a lot many nights. Without thinking, Steph’s hand moved forward and she snagged the stack present on the table. 

“JOCASTA, FRIDAY, ULTRON,” she read the labels and paused at the last one, a drive with a red marker line on the label, “JARVIS”

Dum-E beeped and Steph turned to see the bot snapping its claw in recognition at the name.

“JARVIS?” she repeated and Dum-E beeped again, arm moving up and down. Steph eyed the drive and felt an instinct begin to take form in her gut.

“You want to  _ what _ ?” Rhodey asked as he loaded the drive onto the framework Tony had left abandoned, corralled into working with Steph on her insistence.

“I want to check the drive,” Steph repeated, watching the computer monitor as Rhodey booted the drive, “Dum-E seemed to think it’s important.”

“Dum-E,” Rhodey repeated incredulously, “You’re basing this on the reaction of a - “

“Yes,” Steph said firmly because if she had to go mad with worry, she would do so after having gone with her instincts. Rhodey shrugged and waited as the drive took and the coding began arranging itself. 

Neither of them was prepared when a British voice filtered through the computer.

“Good evening, sir,” the voice greeted, “It is June 30, 20 -”

“Holy shit, it worked?” Rhodey blurted out and the voice paused before continuing.

“My apologies. Voice recognition indicates the presence of Rhodes, James Rupert. Hello, Mr. Rhodes,” the voice said and Steph stared as Rhodey’s eyes widened, “I am JARVIS. Tony Stark’s AI. It is good to meet you.”

“How long have you been -,”  _ alive _ “functional?”

“Voice recognition indicates Captain Rogers, Stephanie,” JARVIS said, “Good evening, Captain. Ms. Stark programmed me to address you as Captain instead of using your name.”

“Tony talked to you about me,” Steph commented, staring at the screen.

“Quite often,” JARVIS declared before pausing, “I detect no presence of Ms. Stark’s voice. I must inform you that my servers are still in need of upgradation and must not be tampered with.”

“Tony isn’t here,” Steph took a breathe and continued, “That’s kind of the reason why we - uh - activated you.”

“Captain?”

“Tony has been kidnapped,” Steph said, the words still hurting her throat, “She was taken by a group called Ten Rings and we can’t find trace of them. Can you - are you advanced enough to crack that by any chance?”

“I’m afraid not, Captain,” JARVIS replied and Steph closed her eyes in frustration, “but I can detect Ms. Stark’s location, if you would prefer that.”

Steph’s eyes snapped open and she felt Rhodey lurch in his seat.

“What?”

“Ms. Stark embedded a tracker in herself, Captain,” JARVIS explained and Steph could feel her heart hammer in her chest, “And I have the coordinates of it. She commented that she would reveal this to you as your birthday present.”

“That’s the weirdest present ever,” Rhodey commented under his breath but Steph could hear her own anticipation reflect in his tone.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Track her,” Steph commanded and watched as the screen transformed into a satellite image of a map. Her hand flew to her phone and she dialled Sharon just as the red dot on the map zoomed to its detected location.

“Agent Carter?” Steph greeted, hand shaking as her nerves steeled themselves, “We’ve got a lead. Move out.”

In the end they tracked Tony to an underground boiler room in an abandoned office building, a few miles outside of Boston. Steph rammed her bike into the first goon she met and then grabbed a nearby barrel top to use as a shield against the bullets that began raining. Sharon and her team poured in, opening fire and Steph ran to the location Sharon gave on the comm, charging across the room to the inner storage space where they had kept Tony. 

A goon was holding Tony by her arm and shoving her back into her chair when Steph burst in. He jerked and tried to shoot her but she threw her makeshift shield at him and then leaped to kick him in the face. All the anger and frustration of the past weeks manifested into her fists as Steph knocked him out and kicked him to the side. When she finally looked up at Tony, the brunette was staring up at her, mouth gagged and eyes wide in shock.

“Tony,” Steph exhaled hard and fell to her knees in front of Tony, hands trembling as they worked at her ropes, breath hitching at the bruises she could see, “God.  _ God _ , I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Tony. Look at what they did to you…”

Tony coughed and gagged when the cloth was finally removed from her mouth but Steph was already rising, rubbing at her back and letting Tony lean against her.

“You - Steph?” Tony rasped, voice hoarse from dryness.

“Yeah,” Steph nodded, voice choking up as Tony buried her face into Steph’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I should have come sooner. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s - okay. You’re here now,” Tony said into Steph’s vest and Steph wrapped her arms around Tony, breathing her in. She smelled horrible, blood and dampness and stale air. She was the best thing Steph had touched. 

“I’m here now,” Steph agreed, meaning everything, promising everything and maybe Tony hadn’t understood and was just tired or maybe she did, but she leaned in closer to let Steph take her weight. 

“I’m here now, Tony,” Steph whispered against Tony’s hair and Tony took a shuddering breath. 

The trial of Stane and Sunset was messy, publicized and made into a public show. Tony was hounded by the press and the media, everyone wanting a piece of her. Howard didn’t talk to his daughter but that was more Tony’s choice than his. Maria begged Tony to come home for a while but Tony refused, shutting herself off from them. 

From everyone but Steph.

Steph was removed from her obligations as Tony’s bodyguard by Maria on Steph’s request but she stayed on the grounds of completing her degree. Tony didn’t comment on that but she didn’t throw Steph out either, so Steph took what she got. On most days, Tony would work till she was bone tired and then sleep, not giving Steph any attention. But she didn’t want Steph to leave either, something they learnt when she went into a panic the one time Steph suggested changing dorms. Steph had abandoned that idea immediately and Tony had gone back to ignoring Steph but still knowing her presence. 

On the fifth week after the rescue, Steph came into the dorm room after dinner to find Tony sitting on her bed instead of Tony’s. The brunette was staring at a tablet in her hands and looked up when Steph stepped in, closing the door behind her.

“Tony?” Steph asked tentatively, eyes searching for any clue of this sudden shift in routine.

“I never gave you your present,” Tony said, the first words she had initiated as a conversation in a long time. Steph stayed silent and watched Tony regard her like she was decoding her. 

“JARVIS said that you talked to him before you came for me,” Tony commented and Steph nodded once.

“He was the one who tracked you,” she replied, pausing before adding, “Do you still have the tracker in you?”

“He told you about your present,” Tony avoided answering and Steph swallowed the urge to push, “I never gave it to you.”

“It’s fine,” Steph shrugged, “We were busy.”

“Is that so?” Tony muttered to herself and Steph shot her a curious look but Tony held out the tablet, “Here. This is for you.”

Steph wanted to tell her that she already had a tablet. She would have said it befoe, back when they had been uncomplicated. Different. Easy. 

She took the tablet and resisted the need to catch Tony’s hand.

“Thank you,” she said instead and looked down at the screen. It was blank at the moment and Steph heard Tony shuffle on the bed.

“Switch it on”

“I can -”

“Switch it on, Steph,” Tony repeated and Steph was hit by a surge of emotion at finally hearing her name from Tony again. She nodded shakily and switched the tab on. 

When the home screen came on, she nearly dropped the device.

“Welcome, Cap,” a familiar voice, JARVIS, spoke, “It’s good to meet you again.”

Steph was assaulted by a trainwreck of emotions as she stared down at the wallpaper on the tab and hearing a lost ally speaking from it. The screen showed Steph in her old red shorts, working on a sketchpad, stretched out by the window on the makeshift couch they had assembled. The picture was in no way professional but it captured a moment when Steph had been at the end of a smile, a fading quirk of her lips, fond and peaceful as she looked at whatever she was drawing. Her hair was messy and her blue t-shirt was faded, the single white star on her chest stretched wide. She didn’t look beautiful by any means. 

The photographer didn’t seem to agree because she looked loved. The moment was so soft, so fragile, that it was clear that the photographer hadn’t been able to resist capturing that shot. It was an impulsive capture, an urge to freeze a memory.

It was falling in love. 

“I don’t know what you were drawing,” Tony said, her voice fond and trembling towards the end, “but I knew what I was falling for. I knew in that moment what I had chosen. Whom I had chosen to love.”

“It was you,” Steph replied, eyes wet and voice shaking as she looked up from the tablet to stare down at Tony who was looking at her with vulnerable hope, “It was always you. I was drawing you because it was always going to be you.”

Tony, when she smiled slowly, looked like the sun had finally come out.

“Good,” she declared and Steph didn’t know who moved but she was leaning down, pressing into the bed, kissing Tony with everything she had. She whispered apologies and promises between every kiss but Tony returned them, gave more than Steve knew to deserve, welcoming her into her arms and heart again. 

Later, when they were simply lying down, arms around each other’s waist and legs tangled together, Steph cupped Tony’s cheek like she had wanted to an age ago.

“Will you stay with me?” she asked, whispering the words into the air between them. 

Tony turned her head to kiss Steph’s palm and grinned.

“I think we’re done running,” she replied and Steph laughed, nose brushing against Tony’s, “Aren’t we?”

Steph nodded and rested her forehead against Tony’s.

When years later, at Tony’s 28th birthday and Stef’s congratulatory party for the success of her comic book, Stef leaned in to whisper against Tony’s ear as they danced with a proposal on her lips, Tony leaned back and grinned at her before giving the only answer she ever could.

“Yes, boss”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! Please leave a comment <3

**Author's Note:**

> Stephanie is revealed as a trans woman in the scene where she talks about why she joined the Army. Just in case that wasn't clear in the story. I wanted to include that and not make the entire story about that alone, so this happened. Please do enjoy and leave a comment !


End file.
